Hapag-Lloyd wins ZEMBA tender

Germany’s container shipping major Hapag-Lloyd has won the first tender launched by Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA). Starting in 2025, it will deliver greenhouse gas emissions reduction of over 90% as compared to fossil fuel service to ZEMBA members.

On April 16, 2024, ZEMBA announced the successful conclusion of its first tender for ocean shipping that achieves at least a 90% reduction of greenhouse gases on a lifecycle basis relative to fossil fuel-powered service.

Through this deal, more than a dozen ZEMBA members including founding members Amazon, Patagonia, and Tchibo alongside Bauhaus, Brooks Running, DB Journey, Green Worldwide Shipping, lululemon, Meta, New Balance, Nike, REI Co-op, and Sport-Thieme have collectively committed to purchase the environmental attributes associated with over 1 billion twenty-foot shipping container-miles of zero-emission shipping on a route from Singapore to Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2025-2026.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company, was selected as the winner of ZEMBA’s inaugural tender.

ZEMBA expects members to collectively avoid at least 82,000 metric tonnes of CO2e over two years through Hapag-Lloyd’s independently certified and exclusively waste-based biomethane service.

“Climate-leading customers of the maritime shipping sector are stepping up in support of zero-emission shipping and the supply chain is responding. As we embark on this partnership, we commend Hapag-Lloyd’s transparency, collaborative spirit, and willingness to innovate with ZEMBA on this inaugural tender,” Ingrid Irigoyen, President and CEO of ZEMBA, commented.

“Our collective procurement approach is working, and we look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of what’s technically and economically feasible in subsequent tenders, with a strong focus on maritime e-fuels. Through this first set of deals, ZEMBA members are reducing emissions in the near term, which is critical. We are also strongly urging suppliers of maritime e-fuels and other zero and near-zero emission propulsion alternatives to accelerate their market readiness in preparation for our next tender.”

“We are proud to have been selected by ZEMBA for this important zero-emission shipping initiative and to be able to provide immediate emission reductions to ZEMBA members,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said.

“To reach our goal of net-zero ship operations by 2045, we need partners like ZEMBA to support us on our decarbonization journey and push the boundaries of what’s possible. By offering our service, we aim to reduce greenhouse gas emission significantly and contribute to a greener future for global shipping.”

Given the expected potential for the first deployment of e-fuels on the water in 2027, this deal was adjusted from three years to two years – 2025-2026 – to allow members the opportunity through ZEMBA’s second tender to focus on supporting e-fuels and technologies of nonbiological origin.

To inform the design of ZEMBA’s next tender and ensure it unlocks investment in the next generation of fuels and technologies, ZEMBA will be seeking information in the coming months from actors across the maritime value chain working to develop e-fuel infrastructure, bunkering, ship design, and other details. The second tender is anticipated to launch later in 2024.

ZEMBA and Hapag-Lloyd will utilize a book & claim system to facilitate verification and credible and appropriate allocation of the environmental attributes of Hapag-Lloyd’s independently certified waste-based biomethane shipping service.

A number of ZEMBA members and Hapag-Lloyd are working with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and RMI on the development of a best-in-class, nonprofit maritime book and claim system, which is intended to allow companies to invest in the zero-emission transition and appropriately claim the environmental benefits without interrupting logistics flows essential to the global economy.

The results from ZEMBA’s tender process will also provide real-world insights to inform the development of an ambitious global maritime decarbonization policy. In the coming months, the Aspen Institute, which serves as secretariate for ZEMBA, will work with cargo owners to convey lessons learned from ZEMBA’s tender process to support the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) development of robust lifecycle assessment guidelines and mid-term measures that are credible, transparent, verifiable, and create a level playing field for climate leaders across the value chain.